Hua Zhi had not expected to find so many people waiting outside. In an instant, she gathered every trace of exhaustion from her face.
Zhu Shi hurried forward. “Everything is all right?”
“Everything is all right.”
“You have worked so hard.” Zhu Shi patted her slightly cool hand and unexpectedly thought of herself at fifteen or sixteen — the same age, and she had been filled with a young woman’s shy anticipation of her coming marriage. Her daughter, at that same age, had quietly become the backbone of the Hua Family.
Qi Shi and Xia Shi were not without their own private feelings. But looking at everything that had unfolded — which of it had not been carried and decided by Zhi’er?
Both Qi Shi and Xia Shi also said she had worked hard, but their eyes kept drifting toward Shao Yao’s face. No wonder she always wore that wide hat — her face was scarred. It was a mystery where the eldest young miss had found such a person, and still more of a mystery why the Old Madam not only permitted it but had instructed them to treat her with respect.
Hua Zhi disliked the way they were looking at Shao Yao. She stepped forward to place herself between them and Shao Yao, and only then did the two women pull their gazes away in mild embarrassment.
Wu Shi’s personal attendant Nanny Song led the other maids of the household in a deep bow. Hua Zhi had no energy left for pleasantries and simply gestured for them to rise. “Have the room properly cleaned and get rid of the smell of blood. Tomorrow looks to be a fair day — if the wind is not too strong, open the windows and door for a while. Do not worry about drafts. It will only do the Fourth Aunt good, not harm.”
“Yes.”
“When the Fourth Aunt wakes, ask her whether she wishes to send word to her family’s household. If she does, you may go directly — no need to come and ask me first.”
“Yes. This servant thanks the eldest young miss on behalf of the mistress for her great kindness.”
Hua Zhi waved it aside and looked toward Nanny Chen. “Is Grandmother all right?”
“The same as this afternoon — sleeping on and off, never for very long before waking again. When she heard that the Fourth Mistress was in labor, she sent this servant out to wait for news.”
“Tell Grandmother that the Fourth Aunt is safe.”
“Yes.”
“Cao’er and I will go back first to eat something and change our clothes, then come to Grandmother’s side.”
With the news she had come for in hand, Nanny Chen said not another word, bowed, and left at once. She knew perfectly well that the eldest young miss must be utterly exhausted, but the Old Madam’s wellbeing came first — she could only pretend she had not seen the young woman’s fatigue.
Hua Zhi turned to the several elder women. “Mother, Second Aunt, Third Aunt — please go and rest. It is late.”
Zhu Shi smoothed the edges of her daughter’s robe, which carried the faint smell of blood. She thought to herself without intending to, of her daughter’s life at fifteen or sixteen — and how that daughter had gradually, quietly, become the very pillar the Hua Family leaned upon.
“You are the most exhausted of all. Go on — do not worry about me.”
“Very well.”
She could hold herself upright outside, but the moment Hua Zhi stepped through the gate into her own courtyard, she did not want to move so much as a finger. Ying Chun and Nian Qiu supported her through the change of clothes entirely.
Shao Yao had looked utterly listless herself — but the moment she laid eyes on the full spread of dishes Fu Dong and the junior maids had brought in, her eyes lit up and every last bit of energy came flooding back, and she buried her head in a hearty meal.
Hua Zhi had no appetite. After a few bites she set down her chopsticks.
Fu Dong wanted to urge the young miss to eat more, but Ying Chun gave her a slight shake of the head. She brought forward a cup of ginseng tea, encouraged Hua Zhi to drink a few sips, and then relayed all the matters the young miss would wish to know.
“This afternoon, the Lu teacher gave the young masters an extra half hour of martial arts practice, so they returned later than usual — but your servant saw that their spirits were excellent and they did not seem affected. The sixth young master asked after your whereabouts. Your servant did not conceal it from him. Afterward he went to the Old Madam’s courtyard, and when he came out again, he gathered all the young masters and brought them to his own courtyard. He said he wanted to spend the evening talking with his brothers.”
Hua Zhi sighed inwardly. Circumstances were forcing him to grow up. These past weeks, Hua Bailin had changed as though someone had poured a ripening tonic over him. For the Hua Family this was a good thing — but as his older sister, her heart ached for the suffering he had endured in the process.
She should also remember the Lu teacher’s kindness. He would only take those thoughtful, unprompted actions for the family if he truly cared about the Hua Family’s wellbeing.
Glancing over at Shao Yao, who had not lifted her head from her bowl, Hua Zhi said languidly, “Fu Dong — the marinated beef should be ready by now. When it is done, set aside a portion of each variety for the Lu teacher.”
“Yes.”
Shao Yao looked up with her mouth still full, unable to speak — she simply pointed to her own nose and made urgent noises of protest.
“Yours is not being forgotten.”
Hua Zhi had no wish to ask just how precious the medicines Shao Yao had used on the Fourth Aunt today truly were. Anything treasured enough to be kept in Shao Yao’s medicine chest was the kind of thing that could not be bought for any amount of money. But to Shao Yao — a girl so straightforward in her nature — no amount of precious medicine could outweigh the worth of a sincere friendship. Hua Zhi understood her well, and so could not bear to let her down.
“There is one more thing.”
Hua Zhi looked toward Ying Chun.
“The second young aunt sent someone. Unfortunately they arrived just when all four gates were locked. The gate servant did not dare act without authority and reported to your servant. Your servant could not let them in, and so sent word for them to come again tomorrow.”
“At least there is finally some movement — though whether it is the kind that brings good news remains to be seen.”
“If it were the first young aunt, your servant would not know what to expect. But the second young aunt — your servant does not think she will be anything but well-meaning.”
The two young aunts of the Hua Family were of entirely different temperaments. The first was the eldest daughter born of the primary wife — strong-willed and domineering by nature; in unkinder terms, a woman who was fierce within the household but meek without. The second young aunt, born of a concubine, was soft-natured and gentle, a woman like a trailing vine — the kind who fared well enough as long as her family’s standing remained strong. But now that the Hua Family had fallen, it was unclear whether her husband’s household still saw any value in the old connection.
“Has word been sent to the third maternal aunt as well?”
“Your servant went personally.”
Hua Zhi let the matter rest. The maids she had raised herself — she knew their capabilities better than anyone.
At this same hour, the Old Madam was listening as Nanny Chen recounted the events surrounding the Fourth Mistress.
“Your servant heard it all clearly. The Fourth Mistress genuinely did hemorrhage severely. Though your servant does not know what method Shao Yao used, she did truly pull the Fourth Mistress back from the brink. It was as though she snatched her right from the King of Hell’s hands.”
“And the others — Zhu Shi and the rest — what were they doing?”
Nanny Chen hesitated, uncertain whether she ought to speak honestly.
“Tell me.”
“Yes.” Nanny Chen lowered her head. “The eldest mistress’s Nanny Lin went in to assist. The eldest mistress herself was escorted away by the eldest young miss’s personal maid. The second and third mistresses, seeing the eldest mistress depart, also took their leave. They only came back when they learned the Fourth Mistress had hemorrhaged.”
The Old Madam could not conceal her disappointment. Even Zhi’er — an unmarried young woman — had the courage to enter the delivery room, while those several women who had all given birth themselves did not think to go in and offer what help they could. All these years she had been too permissive. Daughters-in-law who did not understand their duties — that was her failure as a mother-in-law.
Nanny Su gestured for Nanny Chen to withdraw, then brought the medicinal tea to the Old Madam’s lips. “Why wear yourself out with anger over them?” she said warmly. “Think of the eldest young miss instead — how many households could boast of anyone so capable?”
The Old Madam’s expression softened. She drank two sips of the tea and then waved it aside. “Tell me again about her arrangements from earlier.”
Nanny Su suppressed a smile — the Old Madam had already heard this recounted twice.
Whatever her private thoughts, her words did not lag. She went through every arrangement Hua Zhi had made after the thunder sounded, in full and careful detail.
The Old Madam listened, and as she listened, the last of the frustration brought on by her daughters-in-law’s failings dissolved away. She asked herself honestly — even if she herself had been the one to manage things, she could not have done it more thoroughly or with more foresight than Zhi’er.
“Your servant has been unable to stop thinking lately,” Nanny Su said, “that the eldest young miss’s abilities your servant could see clearly enough all along — your servant is simply not sharp-eyed enough to have noticed sooner. But look at the senior maids at her side — every one of them one in a thousand. And yet for all these years, not the faintest hint of it showed. They say a mistress shapes her maids in her own image, and truly — only the eldest young miss could have raised maids like these.”